Communication systems in general, and paging systems in particular, have attained widespread use. In such paging systems, transmitted call signals are used to call selected receivers for the purpose of transmitting information from a base station to the selected receivers. Modern paging receivers have achieved multi-function capabilities through the use of microprocessors which allow the receivers to respond to information containing various combinations of tone, tone and voice, or data messages in a variety of modes. This information may be transmitted using several paging coding schemes and message formats.
Some considerations governing the successful operation of a paging receiver relate to the portability of the receiver, battery saving, available memory, radio spectrum availability, and fast response time. Equally important, however, is the availability of a variety of form factors. It is now known, for example, to incorporate selective call receivers in pen-type formats and wrist-worn formats.
The variety of form factors renders it desirable to be able to place user actuated controls on virtually any surface of the selective call receiver housing. One such control might be, for example, one which when pressed by the user, changes the mode of operation of the pager. Unfortunately, certain surfaces of the housing lie in planes which are not coplanar with the printed circuit board contained within the housing. Thus, what is needed is a reliable and inexpensive switch which is actuated by pressing a portion of the switch external to the housing in a direction parallel to the plane of the printed circuit board, but which in fact contacts the printed circuit board in a direction substantially orthogonal thereto.